Google Cracking Down on Webmaster Guideline Violators

Google has a warning for web publishers who repeatedly violate the terms of the Webmaster Guidelines; get in line ASAP or face severe penalties as being removed from the search results entirely.

The warning was posted late last week on Google’s Official Webmaster Blog and does not seem to be inspired by any specific event. The warning is, however, aimed at a very specific group; violators who have been subject to Manual Actions and been granted reconsideration.

On the posting, Google makes no bones about what they’re doing and why, saying:

Such repeated violations may make a successful reconsideration process more difficult to achieve. Especially when the repeated violation is done with a clear intention to spam, further action may be taken on the site.

Though Google didn’t lay out a specific punishment regimen for violators, the posting made it clear that complete removal from search results was one distinct possibility.

While the move to punish spammers who repeatedly abuse the system may seem non-controversial on its face, there are some who say that it’s completely unnecessary.

In a posting on Google+, as reported on by SEORoundtable, former Google Webspam team member Pedro Dias explained this notion further saying:

I have mixed feelings about this “repeated violations” post. I feel it was unnecessary; it doesn’t really benefit anyone. People who engage in that kind of behaviour don’t really care about this info; plus it puts Google under a ‘punisher’ light instead of a ‘guide’.

Other SEO watchers are saying that the posting violates, at least the spirit of, Google’s longtime policy of not engaging with spammers. (Though that would hardly be the first time Google acted against its own stated policies regarding the SEO world.)